Centre fails to address Vizag railway zone in the Budget yet again

The interim Budget for 2019 has been evoking an unhappy response from the political parties of  Andhra Pradesh. Slamming the interim Budget for not addressing the state’s issues, leaders here have once again pointed out the centre’s “discrimination” towards the state. Vizag Railway Zone too was among the many issues that were left unaddressed.

“The hollowness that has been the hallmark of this Govt continues. No mention of special status or pending issues of AP reorganization act 2014. Andhra Pradesh, as usual, is deeply discriminated.
People can’t be fooled forever. They will face the wrath of AP people,” tweeted Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.

On the other hand, YSRCP senior leader, Vijaya Sai Reddy stated that there was not even a single reference to Andhra Pradesh in the Budget announced on Friday. Mr. Reddy said that the state met with injustice as the issues of Special Category Status (SCS), Vizag Railway Zone, funds allocation to Polavaram Project and others were not mentioned anywhere while announcing the Budget.

The issue of Vizag Railway Zone has been wavering for quite some time now. Recently, it was reported that a parliamentary sub-committee is still studying the feasibility of setting up a separate railway zone in the state.

It may be recalled that earlier, numerous protests were held across Vizag, demanding the special railway zone.

While Rs 7010 crores were allocated for the East Coast Railways (ECoR), not much of is associated with any budgetary heads in the Vizag region.